The Senate on Thursday confirmed the nomination of a former Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Abayomi Fasina, as a non-career ambassador.

The confirmation followed the presentation and adoption of the report by the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, chaired by Sani Bello, which cleared Mr Fasina9 after screening.

Presenting the report, Simon Lalong (APC-Plateau South) said the committee interviewed Mr Fasina, who answered questions satisfactorily regarding his public service experience, qualifications and suitability for the ambassadorial appointment.

Mr Lalong said the committee found the nomination consistent with Section 171(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), requiring senate confirmation before ambassadorial appointments by the president could become legally effective.

He said the committee received petitions opposing and supporting Mr Fasina’s nomination and carefully reviewed every submission before reaching its recommendation after considering available evidence and relevant official reports.

The senator said that allegations of sexual harassment against Mr Fasina at FUOYE were investigated by the university’s Governing Council and the Nigeria Police without substantiation.

He added that the State Security Service (SSS) and the Nigeria Police Force also cleared the nominee, while committee members found him articulate and satisfactory during the screening exercise.

The committee, therefore, recommended Mr Fasina’s confirmation, noting that constitutional requirements had been fulfilled and that no official findings disqualified him from serving as Nigeria’s non-career ambassador.

During the debate, Adams Oshiomhole (APC-Edo North) opposed the former vice-chancellor’s immediate confirmation, citing allegations reportedly involving two women and matters he said were pending before competent courts for judicial determination.

Mr Oshiomhole maintained that though Mr Fasina remained innocent until proven guilty, confirming him before judicial resolution could appear insensitive to women raising concerns about the alleged misconduct and accountability questions.

Responding, Mr Lalong said the committee received no court documents or evidence confirming pending legal proceedings involving the nominee during screening, making allegations alone insufficient to deny confirmation.

He argued that the Senate consistently upheld the constitutional principle that every accused person remained innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction before punishment or sanctions.

Also, Cyril Fasuyi (APC-Ekiti North) opposed the nomination, saying the university where Mr Fasina served as vice chancellor was located in his constituency and the allegations were widely discussed within the state.

Mr Fasuyi said the complainant personally narrated her experience to him and urged the Senate to mandate further investigation before taking a final decision on the ambassadorial nomination.

Supporting the confirmation, Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) said, “The chairman of the committee stated that all concerns raised about the nominee had been thoroughly addressed. It also received petitions against the nominee, as well as counter-petitions supporting his nomination as ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The committee also established that the allegations against Fasina had been investigated by competent authorities. This includes the University Governing Council and the Nigeria Police Force, both of which found the allegations to be unsubstantiated.”

Mr Ningi, therefore, recommended Mr Fasina’s confirmation as a non-career ambassador.

In his remarks, the Senate President Godswill Akpabio read what he called a relevant portion of the council’s findings.

He quoted the portion as saying, “There were no cases of sexual harassment, thus confirming the earlier investigation by the Nigeria Police Force, which had investigated the matter and found the allegation to be false.

“During the investigation, the complainant stated that she was not sexually harassed. All documents relied upon by the committee, including the police report, audio recordings, transcripts, correspondence involving the vice-chancellor and the complainant, and minutes of management meetings, were attached to the report.”

Mr Akpabio said that he worked strictly with the documents placed before him, insisting, “I cannot rely on hearsay or telephone conversations. The committee itself signed the report clearing the nominee and affirmed his competence, integrity and suitability for the ambassadorial position for which the president nominated him.”

The Senate president urged the senators to remember that they were members of the senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the upper chamber of the National Assembly of a nation of nearly 250 million people.

“We must be careful not to import into our deliberations matters that are not supported by evidence before us,” he said.

Born on July 17, 1961, in Lagos, Mr Fasina is described as a distinguished academic, soil scientist and university administrator, with over four decades of teaching, research and public service experience. 

(NAN)

Uganda has commenced a 42-day countdown towards being declared Ebola-free following the discharge of its final patient from an isolation unit. According to a Reuters report, the patient’s release from Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala on Thursday morning triggered the mandatory waiting period required by the World Health Organisation (WHO) before an outbreak can be officially declared over.

Under WHO guidelines, a country may only be declared free of an Ebola outbreak if no new confirmed cases are recorded within 42 consecutive days following the recovery or death of the last patient.

Uganda’s Ministry of Health reported 20 confirmed Ebola cases during the outbreak, comprising five locally acquired infections and 15 imported cases. The ministry’s online dashboard further indicates that 17 patients recovered, while two people died.

Speaking on the progress, Ugandan government spokesperson Alan Kasujja confirmed that the discharge of the final patient initiated the WHO-mandated countdown. “When that happens, Uganda starts counting down. If 42 days pass without a single new case, WHO guidelines stipulate that we will be declared Ebola-free,” Mr Kasujja explained.

Meanwhile, the outbreak continues to spread in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in May. According to Reuters, data released by the Congolese government on Wednesday showed the country has recorded 2,011 confirmed Ebola cases and 754 confirmed deaths.

Bundibugyo strain

The Bundibugyo strain causes the current outbreak; it is a rare species first identified in Uganda in 2007. Unlike the Zaire strain, there is currently no widely licensed vaccine specifically approved for the Bundibugyo strain. Consequently, surveillance, early detection, contact tracing, and infection prevention remain critical to containing the disease.

Preparedness

Following the WHO’s declaration of the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in May, Nigerian authorities stepped up measures to prevent the virus from entering the country.

PREMIUM TIMES previously reported that President Bola Tinubu approved the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats to coordinate the nation’s response. The President also authorised the release of ₦10 billion to strengthen the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s (NCDC) preparedness and emergency response.

The NCDC has since intensified surveillance at the country’s borders and points of entry, enhanced laboratory capacity, activated rapid response teams, and urged health workers to report any suspected Ebola cases promptly.